In 2022-2024, the California Department of Aging (CDA) received $5 million in one-time Home and Community-Based Services Spending Plan funding to create a modernized community care model to support persons living with Alzheimer's and other dementias and their care partners. The California Community Program for Alzheimer’s Services and Supports (Cal-COMPASS) pilot served as a learning laboratory through which to further develop best practices to prevent or delay institutionalization of persons living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, support caregivers, and advance health equity. Cal-COMPASS furthers the recommendations of Our Path Forward and the Master Plan for Aging.
Through a competitive process, CDA selected seven highly qualified organizations who were experienced providers of person-centered, dementia capable Adult Day Services (ADS). The group included both Adult Day Programs and Adult Day Health Centers, several of which had participated in the Alzheimer’s Day Care Resource Center program, which lost funding in 2009. CDA also chose the UC Davis Family Caregiving Institute to serve as the program evaluator.
The contract awardees were:
The organizations came together with CDA and UC Davis to form a learning community. Participation in the learning community over a 22-month period galvanized commitment to the service delivery model and enabled focused sharing of expertise. The learning community addressed challenges together, generating potential solutions to significant barriers, for example, the use of recruitment and retainment strategies and training to acquire and maintain a robust and well-prepared workforce.